Charleston’s New Mayor’s Chief of Staff Earns Higher Salary Than the Mayor, Possibly the Highest in the State

Chief of Staff to new Charleston Mayor Collects Heftier Paycheck than the Mayor Himself

In a surprising turn of events, Elizabeth Dieck, Chief of Staff to Charleston’s new Mayor, William Cogswell, earns an annual salary of $250,000, outstripping the Mayor’s earnings by about $27,000, according to financial reports acquired by the City Paper. This whopping figure could potentially be the highest salary for any municipal employee, elected or not, in the state, as per data from a statewide organization representing 271 municipalities.

“He’s willing to pay for quality,” expressed city communications director Deja Knight McMillan this week. McMillan points out the necessity of a quality individual to oversee the 1,800 city employees at Charleston. The primary goal, according to McMillan, is ensuring efficient government services to the city’s residents.

Comparison to Previous Administrations

In contrast, Mayor Cogswell has an annual salary of $222,970.17, which matches that of the previous Mayor, John Tecklenburg. The newly appointed Dieck fills the shoes of Tecklenburg’s top aide, Richard Jerue, who held the office of the Senior Advisor and made $171,641.10 annually.

An environmental attorney by profession, Dieck formerly served as the Director of Environmental Affairs for the State Department of Health and Environmental Control. In her new role, unlike what was seen with Jerue, she has a scheduling assistant whose annual salary is $67,602. The strong resume and accompanying high salary make Dieck one of the highest paid local government employees across the state.

The position of highest non-elected city official salary in the state previously went to the assistant administrator/manager in Rock Hill, at $218,795.20 as submitted to the Municipal Association of South Carolina’s self-reported compensation survey, a figure more than $30,000 shy of Dieck’s salary. Dieck’s pay also exceeds that of Charleston County’s highest employee, Administrator William Tuten, who draws an annual salary of $243,256, according to a July 2023 public budget report.

A Million Dollar Team Ripe with Change

Joining the Charleston’s political scene alongside Dieck, Cogswell’s new team includes former international reporter William Cathcart, hired as strategic advisor drawing in $125,000 annually, S.C. Representative Wendell Gilliard, D-Charleston, serving as one of the special advisors earning over his legislative salary of $10,400 a year, and local activist Tamika Gadsden as special advisor on community initiatives, earning $75,000 annually. Alongside this cohort, the list of administration officials includes McMillan ($125,000), scheduling assistant, Alicia Boyd ($75,000), special projects assistant, Trace Whetsell ($75,000), and Elizabeth Bailey ($67,602.29) in another scheduling assistant’s role.

Reports suggest that the city has incurred a spending of $1,285,572.46 on administrative salaries, which constitutes an 11.6% increase from the previous administration’s $1,151,843.42 for a similar number of employees. However, McMillan revealed that the city’s total spending has actually dipped by about $50,000 compared to Tecklenburg’s executive team budget.

The new team’s influx suggests a shift towards a potentially more robust and effective system of governance for Charleston city residents.